A Libyan rebel waves his handgun as he meets with fellow fighters at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the key oil port of Ras Lanuf. Opposition forces ceded ground to Moammar Kadafi's advancing forces as the United States came under increasing pressure to arm the opposition and the United Nations appointed a special humanitarian envoy.

Rebel fighters run for cover during an air strike in Ras Lanuf. Libya's army fought rebels for control of Ras Lanuf on Monday and a rebel official said Moammar Kadafi could attack oilfields like a "wounded wolf" if the West did not stop him with air strikes.

Injured rebel fighters seek protection during an air strike in Ras Lanuf. Major Libyan oil ports Ras Lanuf and Brega in the east of the country are closed as violence in the area has hampered operations at the terminals, shipping sources said on Monday.

A Libyan rebel checks his weapon while guarding petroleum facilities in Ras Lanuf. Opposition forces remained in control of the strategic town Monday after a day of fighting with army troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.

Anti-government forces still in control of key oil port of Ras Lanuf

Times photographer Luis Sinco reports from the Libyan port city of Ras Lanuf.

I was feeling frustrated about missing the action yesterday in Bin Jawwad when the party finally came to me.

Standing by our car about 100 yards from a checkpoint on the edge of Ras Lanuf, I heard only a screaming jet overhead when the missile struck, sending up a thick mushroom cloud of black smoke and brown earth.

For a moment, time stood still. Then the ground trembled and a shock wave washed over me.

Down the road confusion reigned as rebel fighters scrambled for cover, running in all directions — some jumping into vehicles and speeding eastward down the main highway.

Within seconds, the thump and crackle of antiaircraft artillery and small-arms fire filled the air, drowning out the voices of dozens of men shouting at the top of their lungs, “God is great!”

When the dust settled, Times reporter David Zucchino and I drove down the road and saw two large craters on the dirt shoulder. Already, a rebel fighter stood beside the holes waving the red, black and green flag of the Libyan revolution.

Across the way stood a crumpled, white pickup truck, its windows shattered and its doors and seats splattered with blood. The injured had already been taken away, but we quickly learned that a family of six had been inside. The victims included a man and his wife, their three children and grandmother. I could only imagine their terror and pain.

A large crowd of rebels surrounded the vehicle, some pulling debris from inside, including a pair of sneakers, flip-flops, two red sandals and pieces of jagged shrapnel the size of shoeboxes.

“This is what Kadafi does to women and children!” shouted one rebel fighter in English. “Look! See!”

It appeared that the family — like dozens of others — was fleeing the fighting that has raged virtually nonstop between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawwad for the last two days. Several rebels then fired their weapons into the air, emptying clips of 30 rounds or more in a deafening clatter. I felt like screaming at them to stop.

All day long, at a checkpoint about a mile up the road, hundreds of rebels had gathered in a large group — dozing in their vehicles, eating, assembling weapons, stocking up on ammunition, stopping traffic and generally wasting time and bullets by randomly firing their weapons at nothing.

For two weeks now, the pilots of Moammar Kadafi’s air force have managed to defect to Malta, abort missions or miss their targets completely. Today, they hit six innocent and unarmed noncombatants driving away from the violence.